Day February 23, 2011

The relationship between Google and Apple is an interesting one. It’s enticing to declare them “at war” with one another, but that type of relationship does not account for the collaboration and partnerships they enjoy. To wit:

Google pays Apple for default Search placement on Safari. This means that Google treats Apple as a distributor.

We can presume that there is a deal between the two over Gmail and Maps on the iPhone as well.

AdMob is available on iOS without hindrance.

The business relationships between the two companies are self-evident. However, I would suggest that there are more important strategic reasons why Google and Apple are in fact implicitly collaborating against a common goal.